Brush arm mechanism for web splicing device



Nov. 30, 1954 P. L. ToLLlsoN BRUSH ARM MECHANISM FOR WEB SPLICING DEVICE 4 sheets-sheet 1 Filed Sept. 18, 1951 n Bulmahn-innig nlllll-Bl unil mw INVENTCR PAUL L;ToLL|soN BY M, m Mv' ATTORNEYS Nov. 30, 1954 P. L. ToLLlsoN 2,695,758

BRUSH ARM MECHANISM FOR WEB SPLICING DEVICE Filed Sept. l5, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNvEN-roR PAUL L. TOLLISON BY 7;uw, m, WWW@ ATTORNEYS Nov. 3o, 1954 P, L, TOLUSON 2,695,758

BRUSH ARM MECHANISM FOR WEB SPLICING DEVICE Filed Sept. 18. 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 $1 INVENTOR q. PAUL I .ToLLlsoN P. L. TOLLISON BRUSH ARM MECHANISM FOR WEB SPLICING DEVICE Nov. 3o, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Sept. 18, 1951 Qu TT? INVENTOR PAUL L TOLLISON M, lMd-TW ATTORNEY United States Patent BRUSH ARM MECHANISM FOR WEB SPLICING DEVICE Paul L. Tollison, North Plainfield, N. J., assignor to Wood Newspaper Machinery Corporation, Plainfield, N. J., a corporation of Virginia Application September 18, 1951, Serial No. 247,102

6 Claims. (Cl. 242-58) This invention relates to web splicing apparatus and particularly concerns an improved brush arm mechanism for use in apparatus that splices the web of a fresh web roll to a web running from an expiring roll to web con-V suming apparatus.

' In order to maintain a continuous supply of the web running to a printing press or other web consuming apparatus, it is necessary to periodically replace the depleted web roll from which the web is running with a fresh web roll, and this involves splicing the leading end of the fresh roll web to the web running from the expiring roll to the web consuming apparatus. This splicing is done while the running web is moving at full web speed.

Known mechanism for making a web splice custom arily includes an arm, generally termed a brush arm, that carries both a brush for pressing the running web against the cylindrical surface of a fresh roll to make the splice and a knife for cutting the old web behind the splice. The fresh and expiring rolls are customarily carried on separate arms of a multi-arm reel and it is necessary that the brush arm be movable out of the path of the reel carried rolls to permit the necessary turning of the reel, and back into splicing position adjacent the cylindrical surface of the reel carried roll when a splice is to be made.

The present invention has for its object the provision of improved brush arm mechanism embodying novel means for assisting the operator in moving the brush arm between its web splicing and inactive or retracted positions, as well as improved mechanism for adjusting the force applied to the brush when the splice is made. The adjustment of the brush force is useful in adapting the mechanism to the splicing of webs of different width.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings in which an embodiment of an improved brush arm mechanism incorporating the invention has been illustrated.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of mechanism embodying the invention with the brush arm in the lowered or down position ready to make a splice;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism of Fig. 1, with the brush arm in the raised or up position to permit rotation of the web roll reel;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the mechanism in the up position shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section, along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 and showing the brush arm in the raised or inactive position;

Figs. 5 and 6 are side elevations similar to Fig. 4, both showing the brush arm in the down position, Fig. 5 showing the mechanism just .before a splice is made and Fig. 6 showing the mechanism at the moment that the splice is made.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the brush arm comprises essentially two parallel arms 7 and 8, each xedly secured to a main shaft 9, the opposite ends of which are freely journalled in brackets 10 and 11 that are suitably secured to the frame members 12 and 13 of the press or other web consuming apparatus. The arms 7 and 8 and the connecting shaft 9 form a rigid assembly which can be moved as a unit between a lowered or down position, as shown in Fig.Y 1, and a raised or up position, as shown in Fig. `2. j A brush shaft 17` mounted in 2,695,758 Patented Nov. 30, 1954 ICC bearings secured to the arms 7 and 8 carries two brush brackets 14 and 15 secured thereto and a brush 16 is xed to these brackets.

A cross shaft 18 supported by extensions of the brackets 10 and 11 carries two generally horizontally extending arms 19 and 20, the free ends of which rest upon and are supported by the shaft 9. Spring arms 21 and 22 are secured at spaced points to the brush shaft 17, and the respective spring arms carry pins 23 and 24 to which the lower ends of the respective brush operating springs 25 and 26 may be detachably connected. The upper end of the spring 25 is connected by a link 27 to a pink28 fixed to the arm 19 and the upper end of the spring 26 is similarly connected by a link 29 to a pin 30 fixed to the arm 20. With the brush arm in the down position, the springs 25 and 26 are tensioned and tend to urge the brush shaft to turn in a counterclockwise or brush extending direction, as viewed in Fig. l.

Because the upper anchors ofthe brush operating springs 25 and 26 lie above the path of movement of the brush arm from its down to its up position, the springs 25 and 26 are relieved of tension and are slack when the brush arm is raised to its up position as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. In adapting splicing mechanism to webs of different widths, it is desirable to employ lower spring pressures on the brush for narrower width webs than for full Width webs. In accordance with the present invention, means are provided for so varying the brush spring pressure. The brush spring arms 21 and 22 are provided with spring attachment pins 31 and 32 which are closer to the shaft 17 than are the pins 23 and 24. When maximum brush spring pressure is required for a full width web, the two springs 25 and 26 are attached to the outer spring arm pins 23 and 24, re-

spectively, as shown. When a half width web is to be spliced, the two springs are attached at their lower ends to the inner pins 31 and 32, respectively, whereby the lever arm through whichthe springs act on the brush shaft is reduced and the force applied to turn the brush shaft and extend the brush is accordingly reduced. If a three-quarter width web is being spliced, one spring is attached to the outer pin 21 0r 22 and the other spring is attached to the inner pin 31 or 32, so that an intermediate force is applied to the brush shaft. The change in spring attachment is readily made when the brush arm is in the up position with the springs 25 and 26 slack.

In accordance with the present invention, improved means are provided for counterbalancing the brush arm and so assisting the operator in moving it to its up and down positions. As shown, this mechanism includes what is here termed a multiplying cam, made up of two cams 33 and 34 that are secured to each other and mounted to turn in unison on the shaft 18 between a collar 35 and the bracket 11. A flexible member in the form of a chain 36 is connected between the surface of the small cam 34 and the brush arm through a bar 37 on the arm 8, and aexible member in the form of a chain 38 is secured at one end to the surface of the large cam 33 and hangs downward from that surface and carries a weight 39 at its lower end. A guide sprocket 40, rotatably mounted on a stationary bracket 41, engages the chain 38 and insures that the weight 39 travels in a vertical path.

The effective radii of the connected cams 33 and 34` with respect to the chains 38 and 36 are so related that the lifting force applied to the brush arm by the chain 36 due to the gravitational pull on the weight 39 increases from a minimum value when they brush arm is in its lowered position, as shown in Fig. 1, to a maximum value when the brush arm is in its raised position, as shown in Fig. 2. (The term effective radii of the cams, as here employed, means the distance from the cam axis to the cam surface engaging chain along a line normal to the straight path of the chain.) ThisV result 1s accomplished by so proportioning the radii of the cams 33 and 34 that the effective pull on the brush arm chain 36, which is obtained by dividing the Vproduct of the weight 39 kand the eifective radius of the :cam 33 by the effective radius of the cam 34, is of constantly increasing value as the brush arm moves upward from the upper to the raised position. As will be seen by comparing Figs. l and 2, the effective radius of the cam 33 is considerably greater when the brush arm is lowered (Fig. 1) than when it is raised (Fig. 2). Likewise the effective radius of the cam 34 is considerably smaller when the brush arrn is lowered than when it is raised. At points intermediate between the lowered and raised positions, the relation of the radii of the two cams is such that the brush arm lifting force obtained by the above explained calculation progressively increases as the brush arm moves upward. This increasing pull on the brush arm as it is raised compensates for the increasing gravitational pull on the brush arm as it moves toward its raised position, with the result that the excess of lifting force due to the weight 39 over the gravitational resistance to raising movement of the brush arm may be maintained substantially constant for all brush arm positions. In other words, the interconnected cams 33 and 34 vary the force applied by the weight 39 to the brush arm in conformity with the position of the brush arm. The weight 39 is so chosen that it will raise the brush arm and hold it in the up position, and the operator lowers the brush arm manually against the lifting force of the weight.

An extension 42 secured to the arm 7 adjacent its lower end carries a handle 43 that may be grasped by the operator to push the brush arm from its raised to its lowered position. Another handle 44 is fixed to the arm 7 by a bracket 45. A toggle linkage is provided to hold the brush arm in its lowered position against the pull of the weight 39. The upper end of one of the toggle links 46 is pivotally carried by a stud 47 secured to the end of the shaft 18, and a stop bar 48 is also pivotally carried by this stud. The lower end of the link 46 is pivotally connected with the other link 49 by a stud 50 which extends laterally to form a handle, as shown in Fig. 3. The lower end of the link 49 is pivotally connected to the arm 7 by a stud 51 fixed to the handle bracket 45 and this stud 51 extends laterally to engage a resilient bumper 52 xed to the end of the stop bar 48 when the brush arm is raised to its up position. A stop 53 secured to the lower edge of the link 49 adjacent its upper end is engaged by the lower end 54 of the upper link 46 when the toggle linkage is extended, whereby the links 49 and 46 may move to a locked position to hold the brush arm in its down position against the lifting force exerted by the weight 39. The toggle is broken to permit lifting of the brush arm to its up position by an upward push on the toggle linkage stud handle Si), whereupon the brush arm moves up until the stud 51 engages the bumper 52 on the stop bar 48 (Fig. 2). The position of the stop bar 48 is adjusted by a set screw 55 thereon in an upper extension of the stop bar and engaging a pin 56 xed to the bracket 10.

The brush arm carries a transverse knife shaft 57 journalled in the arms 7 and 8 and in a center bearing 58 that is secured to a cross bar 59. The bar 59 is secured to the arms 7 and 8 adjacent their lower ends and serves as a guide that engages the running web before it is engaged by the brush 16. The knife 60 is secured to the knife shaft 57 by brackets 61, and the knife is made up of several sections, as indicated at 60, 60', 60, etc., to permit the passage of tension straps 62 and 63 in the gaps between the knife sections. The straps 62 and 63 maintain the proper tension on the running web roll in a manner known in the art. Coil springs 64 and 65 surround the knife shaft and are anchored in the center bearing 58 and attached to collars 66 and 67 fixed to the knife shaft 57. The springs 64 and 65 are so tensioned as to urge the knife shaft to turn in a clockwise or knife extending direction, as viewed in Fig. l.

The means disclosed for releasing and resetting the brush and knife shaft will now be described. A latching toe 68 is secured to the knife shaft 57 and, when the knife is in its retracted position, the toe 68 is engaged by a latch 69 which is pivotally connected through a link 70 to a lever 71. The lever 71 is pivotally connected to the arm 7 by a bracket 72 and carries a projection 73 that engages a boss on the arm 7 and so limits the-downward movement of the latch 69 (Fig. 4).

A knifesolenoid 74 fixed to the arm 7 has an armature oftheknife solenoid 74 lifts the latch 69 and so releases 4 the knife shaft 57, which is turned by the spring 64, 65 so as to swing the knife 60 to an extended position in which the web is severed (Fig. 6).

A toe 77 secured to the brush bracket 15 is engaged by a latch 78 carried by a latch lever 79 pivotally secured to a bracket 80 xed to the arrn 8 (Figs. 3 and 4). The brush solenoid 81, fixed to the arm 8, has an armature 82 pivotally connected to the latch lever 79, so that energization of the solenoid 81 turns the latch lever 79 counterclockwise, as viewed in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, and so moves the latch 78 to release the toe 77, whereupon the springs 25 and 26 turn the brush knife 17 counterclockwise and so extend the brush 16.

After each splicing operation, which involves release of the brush and knife to their extended positions, the brush and knife shafts 17 and 57 are reset to their retracted positions by movement of the brush arrn to its raised or up position. A clutch 84 is xed to the brush shaft 17 and is provided with laterally extending teeth 85 that engage between the oppositely extending teeth 86 of a clutch lever 87 which is mounted to turn freely on the shaft 17 and is held against movement along the shaft by a xed collar 88 (Figs. 3 and 4). The interengaging teeth 85 and 86 are spaced apart circumferentially of the brush shaft suiciently to permit the brush shaft 17 to turn from the position in which the brush is retracted (Fig. 5) to that in which the brush is extended (Fig. 6) without movement of the clutch lever 87 from the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

The clutch lever 87 has an extension 90 to which the lower end of an operating rod 91 is pivotally connected. The upper end of the rod 91 is pivotally secured to the bracket 12 at a point spaced from the axis of the brush arm shaft 9, the arrangement being such that when the brush arm is moved to its up position, the rod 91 turns the clutch lever 87 clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 4, through an angle such that the clutch lever teeth 85 engage the clutch teeth 86 and the brush shaft 17 is turned clockwise through an angle that moves the brush toe 77 past its latch 78 and so latches up the brush in the retracted position (Figs. 2 and 4). The length of the rod 91 is adjustable by a turnbuckle 92.

The clutch lever 87 has a second extension 93 which carries a transversely apertured poppet 94 pivotally mounted thereon. The rod 95 is threadedly secured in the aperture of the poppet 94 and is held in place by a lock nut 96. The rod 95 slidably engages a transverse opening in a poppet 97 which is pivotally secured at the end of a lever arm 98 fixed to the knife shaft 57, and adjustable interengaging nuts 99 at the end of the rod 95 beyond the poppet 97 form a stop to limit the movement of the rod 95 through the poppet 97.

Assuming that the brush and knife mechanisms are latched up as shown in Fig. 1 and that the running web roll 100 has run off to the point where replacement is required, the operator turns the roll carrying reel (here illustrated by the arms 103 and 104) to the position illustrated in Fig. l, where the web 101 running from the expiring roll 100 passes closely adjacent the cylindrical surface of the fresh roll 102. The fresh roll 102 is accelerated to web speed by suitable known mechanism. The operator then lowers the brush arm to the down position shown in Figs. l and 5 and thereafter at the proper time energizes first the brush solenoid 81 and then the knife solenoid 74. Energization of the brush solenoid 81 extends the brush 16 to press the running web 101 against the fresh roll 102 and so make the splice. Extension of the knife 60 severs the old web behind the splice, as shown in Fig. 6. Thereafter the operator breaks thebrush arm toggle linkage by raising the handle 50 and the brush arm is lifted by the weight 39 to the up position shown in Figs. 2 and 4. During this upward movement of the brush arm, the rod 91 turns the clutch lever 87 clockwise and latches up the brush 16 in the retracted position, as explained above. At the same time, the turning of the clutch lever 87 causes the rod 95 to pull the knife shaft lever arm 98 and so turn the knife shaft 57 counterclockwise to the point where it is latched up by engagement of the latch 69 with the toe 68, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. Movement of the knife 60 to the extended position is permitted by the sliding of the poppet 97 along the rod 95 from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown in Fig. 6. A guard 105 protects the knife 60 when it is retracted. y

After the brush arm is raised following a splice, the

web roll reel is advanced to move the newly-spliced-in roll 102 into the tension straps 62, 63, as shown 1n Fig. 2.

l claim:

l. A brush arm mechanism for web splicing devices comprising, in combination with a xed overhead support, a brush arm pivotally secured to and depending from said support and movable toward the overhead support from a lowered position to a raised position and a brush carrying shaft journalled in said brush arm, at least one lever secured to and extending radially from said brush carrying shaft, a tension spring connected between said lever and a point on said fixed support above the path of movement of the brush arm toward its raised position, means for causing said spring to become slack when the brush arm is in its raised position and to become tensioned when the brush arm is in its lowered position, and a plurality of spring connecting means on said lever disposed at points spaced at different radial distances from said brush carrying shaft whereby the tension applied to said shaft by said spring when the brush arm is in its lowered position may be variably adjusted by shifting the point of connection of said spring to said lever when said brush arm is in its raised position.

2. A brush arm mechanism for web splicing devices comprising in combination with a fixed overhead support, a brush arm pivotally secured to and depending from said support and movable toward the overhead support from a lowered position to a raised position and a brush carrying shaft journalled in said brush arm, at least two levers secured to and extending radially from said brush carrying shaft, at least two tension springs connected respectively between said respective levers and points on said fixed support above the path of movement of said brush arm toward its raised position, means for causing said springs to become slack in the raised position of the brush arm and to become tensioned in the lowered position of the brush arm, and a plurality of spring connecting means on each of said levers spaced at different distances from said brush carrying shaft, whereby the tension applied to said shaft by said springs when the brush arm is in its lowered position may be variably adjusted by shifting the point of connection of at least one of said springs to its lever when the brush arm is in its raised position.

3. A brush arm mechanism for web splicing devices comprising, in combination with a fixed overhead support, a brush arm pivotally secured to and depending from said support and movable between a vertically depending lowered position and an angular raised position, a pair of interconnected cams rotatable about a common axis secured to a fixed support above the path of movement of the brush arm toward its raised position, two flexible members respectively connecting the surface of one of said cams to said brush arm and the surface of the other of said cams to a depending weight whereby the action of gravity on said weight applies a lifting force to said brush arm, the effective radii of said cams being so proportioned and related that the lifting force applied to the brush arm by the brush arm connected liexible member as determined by dividing the product of the weight and the effective radius of the weight carrying cam by the effective radius of the brush arm connected cam is of progressively increasing magnitude as the brush arm moves from its lowered position to its raised position, a brush carrying shaft journalled in said brush arm, at least one lever secured to and extending radially from said brush carrying shaft, a tension spring connected between said lever and said iixed support and a plurality of spring connecting means on said lever disposed at points spaced at different radial distances from said brush carrying shaft for permitting variable adjustment of the tension applied to said shaft by said spring by changing the point of connection of said spring to said lever.

4. A brush arm mechanism for web splicing devices comprising, in combination with a iixed overhead support, a brush arm pivotally secured to and depending from said support and movable between a vertically depending lowered position and an angular raised position, a pair of interconnected cams rotatable about a common axis secured to a xed support above the path of movement of the brush arm toward its raised position, two flexible members respectively connecting the surface of one of said cams to said brush arm and the surface of the other of said cams to a depending weight whereby the action of gravity on said weight applies a lifting force to said brush arm, the effective radii of said cams being so proportioned and related that the lifting force applied to the brush arm by the brush arm connected tlexible member as determined by dividing the product of the weight and the effective radius of the weight carrying cam by the elfective radius of the brush arm connected cam is of progressively increasing magnitude as the brush arm moves from its lowered position to its raised position, a brush carrying shaft journalled in said brush arm, at least one lever secured to and extending radially from said brush carrying shaft, a tension spring connected between said lever and said xed support and a plurality of spring connecting means on said lever disposed at points spaced at diiferent radial distances from said brush carrying shaft for permitting variable adjustment of the tension applied to said shaft by said spring by changing the point of connection of said spring to said lever, and a toggle linkage connected between said lixed support and said brush arm for holding said brush arm in its lowered position.

5. A brush arm mechanism for web splicing devices comprising, in combination with a fixed overhead support, a brush arm pivotally secured to and depending from said support and movable between a vertically depending lowered position and an angular raised position, a pair of interconnected cams rotatable about a cornmon axis secured to a xed support above the path of movement of the brush arm toward its raised position, and two flexible members respectively connecting the surface of one of said cams to said brush arm and the surface of the other of said cams to a depending weight whereby the action of gravity on said weight applies a lifting force to said brush arm, the effective radii of said cams being so proportioned and related that the lifting force applied to the brush arm by the brush arm connected llexible member as determined by dividing the product of the weight and the effective radius of the weight carrying cam by the effective radius of the brush arm connected cam is of progressively increasing magnitude as the brush arm moves from its lower position to its raised position.

6. A brush arm mechanism for web splicing devices comprising, in combination with a xed overhead support and a brush arm pivotally secured to and depending from said support and movable between a substantially vertical deepnding lowered position and an angular raised position, a pair of interconnected cams comprising a brush arm cam and a weight carrying cam rotatably secured to turn about a common axis on said lixed support above the path of movement of the brush arm toward its raised position, a first flexible member connected between the surface of said brush arm cam and said brush arm and a second flexible member secured to the surface of said weight carrying cam and to a depending weight, said brush arm cam having a long effective radius with respect to said first flexible member when said brush arm is in its lowered position and a shorter eective radius with respect to said first flexible member when said brush arm is in its raised position, and said weight carrying cam having a short effective radius with respect to said second flexible member when said brush arm is in its lowered position and a longer effective radius with respect to said second flexible member when said brush arm is in its raised position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,671,976 Avery June 5, 1928 2,089,635 Wood Aug. 10, 1937 2,155,430 Lundquist et al. Apr. 25, 1939 2,205,498 Schwarz .Tune 25, 1940 

